
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “Regions of Europe: Development without Borders” (Region to Region/ R2R (0)

On May 15 and 16, Perm welcomed the Forum of young Europeans from Russia and the EU “The Europe of the XXI Century though the Eyes of Young Europeans”. The idea of this meeting was expressed over a year ago. The aim of the forum is to provide an opportunity for the new generation of Europeans to discuss what the future of the Old World can and should be like. The Forum was attended by over 30 young people from different regions of the European part of Russia and 16 European countries.



In the evening of November 27, 2008, in the spacious house of the Russian Ambassador in Belgium it became clear that the presentation of Perm Krai, which had been conceived in the spring this year, had been a success above expectation. However, a few weeks before this had seemed doubtful. Too many obstacles had arisen before the realization of the idea to hold a “Perm Day in Brussels”, and those had nothing to do with organizational difficulties. It is enough to mention two events that had occurred prior to this day: the armed conflict in the Caucasus, which was accompanied by appeals to «isolate Russia», and the global financial and economic crisis.